[acne] I thought my skin was just getting worse… it was literally my shower water

I feel kind of stupid even typing this but here we are lol. For like a year I was convinced my skin barrier was “broken.” I’d cleanse with sink water and my skin felt okay but never truly healthy. I was so diligent about my skincare and became essentially a cosmetic chemist trying to find the best products on the market. My cheeks would flush red, moisturizer would just sit on and not really absorb. I blamed tret. I blamed my cleanser. I blamed stress. I even blamed my pillows and bought expensive ass silk pillowcases. Then I remembered reading about how hard water makes your hair super dry and simultaneously oily, which I was also struggling with. So then I google and sure enough hard water has a huge impact on your skin. On a random desperate night I bought an in-shower water softener for about $200 because I figured this would be the only water actually touching my skin and hair anyway. I stopped washing my face in the sink and made myself wash my face exclusively in the shower for a few weeks and I figured worst case, if it didn’t work, I’d just return it. I didn’t return it. Within a couple weeks: \- my skin was way more clear \- my face stopped feeling tight right after washing it \- skincare was now actually properly absorbing into my skin which is making me glow \- the angry red cheeks calmed down \- those random bumpy patches just… stopped showing up I didn’t change a single product. Same cleanser, same tret, same routine I’d been using when my skin looked like it hated me. It’s honestly annoying how simple the fix was. I spent months thinking I had some mysterious skin condition and it was literally minerals beefing with my face. If your skin feels worse right after you shower no matter what you use, it might not be you. It might just be your water.